NRL makes a special rule change to help Jai Arrow reach 100 Rabbitohs games

Sydney (AP) — Motor neurone disease might not stop Jai Arrow from reaching a career milestone in Australia’s National Rugby League. The NRL is contemplating an exception to its regulations to give the veteran forward a chance to play in his 99th and 100th rugby league games for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, if only briefly. Diagnosed with Motor neurone disease in May, Arrow, 31, is expected to be included as an additional player and substitution on the official team list for Tuesday’s match against the Gold Coast Titans and the last regular season game against Sydney Roosters.

He will don the Rabbitohs kit, enter the team on the field, make the first interchange within seconds of the opening whistle, and sit on the interchange bench for the rest of the game. This gesture, according to Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys, highlights the sport’s capacity to foster humanity. Arrow will cross the 180-game mark in the NRL and secure his 100th game for the Rabbitohs, including representative games for Queensland in the State of Origin series.